Interfaith/Community Action Network

04/07/2023

“A local Connecticut television station reported that the Archdiocese of Hartford is investigating a possible eucharistic miracle… ‘One of our eucharistic ministers was running out of hosts and suddenly there were more hosts in the ciborium. God just duplicated himself in the ciborium, … It’s really, really cool when God does these things, and it’s really, really cool when we realize what he’s done, and it just happened today,’ the priest said.”

They call that a miracle? A real miracle would be if the Texas State Legislature voted to expand Medicaid. A real miracle would be if Congress would pass legislation prohibiting the sale and ownership of assault rifles and high capacity magazines; raise the minimum wage to $23 an hour and make permanent the expanded child tax credit.

If God is indeed handing out miracles, it ought to be something that impacts the lives of real people. Perhaps God could multiply compassion and justice. Now, that would be very cool indeed.

04/07/2023

David Brooks in today’s Express News:

“…[Y]ou probably saw the Wall Street Journal/NORC poll that came out this week. It found that the share of Americans who say patriotism is very important to them has dropped to 38 percent from 70 percent since 1998. The share who say religion is very important has dropped to 39 percent from 62 percent. The share who say community involvement is very important has dropped to 27 percent from 47 percent. The share who say having children is very important has dropped to 30 percent from 59 percent.”

With regard to patriotism, that’s a tricky question. Sometimes patriotism becomes idolatry, as in “my country, right or wrong.”

With regard to religion, when the most noteworthy contribution of religion is the miraculous multiplication of thre communion hosts in an near empty ciborium, well, ask yourself, what does religion really have to do with your life anyway. Religion has moved from a theology of liberation to a theology of indifference and complicity.

With regard to community involvement: people do not become civically engaged in a vacuum; people must be organized inside of institutions, and those institutions most suited for the purpose, churches, synagogues, mosques, labor local, public schools and other such institutions have failed miserably in this regard, or at least their leadership has.

With regard to having children: to have children is to choose to live at a lower socio-economic level. People might want to have children if Congress passed a permanent extended child tax credit, increased the minimum wage to $23 an hour, established family leave and sick leave, if there wer universal health care and free colleges and universities.

Surveys never tell you what’s happening; they manipulate you to think what they want you to think.

04/07/2023

From today’s NYT:

“As of Saturday, state officials around the country could begin removing people from Medicaid who no longer qualify — something they had been prohibited from doing under a provision in a coronavirus relief package passed by Congress in 2020. … Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program have ballooned to cover roughly 90 million people, or more than one in four Americans — up from about 70 million people at the start of the pandemic. The guaranteed coverage amounted to an extraordinary reprieve for patients, preserving insurance for millions of vulnerable Americans and sparing them the hassles of regular eligibility checks. The federal government has estimated that about 15 million people will lose coverage in the coming months, including nearly seven million people who are expected to be dropped from the rolls even though they are still eligible. Nearly half of those who lose coverage will be Black or Hispanic, according to federal projections.”

Where is the outrage of our religious leaders now.

04/07/2023

“The general public doesn’t know what’s happening and it doesn’t even know that it doesn’t know.” Attributed to Noam Chomsky.

I find that incredibly arrogant. In my experience as an organizer, I found that ordinary people, when they can engage one another in meaningful conversation, are very capable of not only understanding what is happening, but how to fix it; a lot better than experts. The edge that most everyday people have over the expert or the egghead, is that unlike the expert, they have skin in the game.

04/07/2023

Ex 20,25: “If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you shall not deal with them as a creditor; you shall not exact interest from them.”

This is part of the instruction given to the Hebrews on Mount Sinai by Moses on how they are to conduct themselves in relation to each other when they enter the promised land. Actually, the origin of this teaching is the Babylonian exile after the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. As exiles in Babylon, the people lived in a society, much like the present day United States, in which moneylenders (payday loan operations) exacted exorbitant interest on loans and used such interest to enslave people to debt (again, like payday lenders). The response of a people who were a people set apart was, for those who had the financial resources, to lend without interest so as to free the people from the slavery of their debt, truly a theolgy of liberation. Isaiah speaks of the people who lived in darkness seeing a great light; this is about freeing people from debtors prison. The same is true in Mt 25, I was a prisoner (in debtors prison) and you came to me (in order to liberate me from my debt).

Can those of us who call ourselves Christians or Jews, or even Muslims claim that we are a people set apart when we are indifferent to, or even profit (cf. Desmond, “Poverty, by America”) from people’s enslavement to debt. For Catholics to be a people set apart has to be more than not eating meat on the Fridays of Lent.

06/18/2021

Several I/CAN leaders walked two precincts to get out the vote (non-partisan) for the June 5 district 9 runoff election. Leaders walked two Saturdays (early voting and election day) in precincts 3104 and 3117.

The highest number of people voting in any district 9 precinct was pct 3117, one of the I/CAN precincts!

The highest voting pct by % was 3154 at 30.67%
The % of turnout for the I/CAN pcts was (3104) 24.41% and (3117) at 29.51% [third place after (3114) at 29.88%, but only by .37%!]

I/CAN LEADERS, congratulations on a job well done.

06/01/2021

I/Can leaders getting out the vote in District 9, May 29, 2021.

10/21/2020

I/CAN & TBO Assembly 10/18/2020

10/21/2020

I/CAN & TBO Assemby 10/18/2020

11/25/2019

Dr. Doshie Piper’s focus statement at the I/CAN assembly November 20, 2019:

My name is Dr. Doshie Piper, I am a member of True Vine Church and a leader of I/CAN.

I want to begin this reflection intended to focus the purpose of this assembly and the actions proposed to follow it, with a quotation from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah: “The LORD saw and it was evil in His eyes that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, He was distressed that there was no one who intervenes.” If there is one declaration that we can make to sum up not only our gathering but the purpose of our organizing, it’s that we intend, in solidarity with one another, when we see injustice, when we see poverty, abuse and oppression, indifference to human suffering, we intend to intervene. We intend to intervene because we have experienced in conversations that we have conducted with one another that justice is lacking and it is evil in our eyes!

The prophet quotes the Lord as declaring: “the oppressed and the needy are seeking water and there is none; their tongue is parched with thirst. I, the LORD will answer them, the God of Israel will not abandon them.” The people of our communities wander the land thirsting for an opportunity to share in the wealth of the nation that is God’s gift meant to be shared by all his people. They thirst for opportunity for their children; they thirst for meaningful and remunerative employment; they thirst for safe drug free neighborhoods and schools; they thirst for freedom from the fear of being deported leaving their children behind. We stand with the LORD because we stand in solidarity with one another. We will answer those among us that thirst, whose tongues are parched, we will not abandon them!

If we dare to declare with the prophet that the spirit of the LORD is upon our congregations, our schools, our professional associations and labor unions, that the LORD has anointed us to bear glad tidings to the oppressed; it is only because we are dedicated to bind up the broken hearted and to announce to captives liberation, to console all those who mourn.

We believe with Isaiah that to be faithful to our religious traditions, whether Christian, Muslim or Jewish, we must divide our bread with the hungry, bring into our house the oppressed wandering about and clothe the naked.

To share our bread is to work with each other so that all the members of our community have food, shelter, healthcare, education and safe and clean neighborhoods.

To bring the oppressed into our home is to ensure that all those who live among us, the undocumented resident, the DACA young people, those seeking asylum should enjoy the full fruits of citizenship

To clothe the naked is to ensure that all our people have the dignity and the power to speak on their own behalf in the company of their neighbors.

We believe that to be faithful to these traditions, we must take seriously the obligations and responsibilities of citizenship and respect the iron rule: never do for others what they can do for themselves. Then the words of the prophet Isaiah will ring true as he speaks in the name of the LORD: I will bring all people unto my holy mountain, and I will give them joy in my house of prayer, because my house will be called a house of prayer for all the people. The house that we call the nation is the patrimony of all its people.

AND ALL MEANS ALL.

11/23/2019

On November 20, the I/CAN assembly ratified its action agenda (English and Spanish):

I/CAN Family Action Agenda

Immigration. I/CAN supports:
*Comprehensive Immigration Reform: We call on our congressional representatives to create a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented people living in our communities
*DACA: an immediate pathway to citizenship for all DACA young people
*Asylum: a fair and humane process for those who seek asylum in the United States
*Drivers’ license for undocumented people.

Universal Background Checks for the purchase of Fi****ms. I/CAN calls on our congressional representatives to pass legislation that requires universal background checks to purchase fi****ms.

Infrastructure: I/CAN calls its city and county representatives to work with local communities to improve neighborhood infrastructure to ensure our people’s safety:
*Sidewalks: repairing, replacing broken sidewalks and ensuring that sidewalks are ADA accessible
*Street Lighting: proper street lighting improves neighborhood security
*Speedbumps/humps: to prevent speeding on neighborhood streets
*Adequate animal control: especially loose dogs that are particularly dangerous to senior citizens and children.

Neighborhood Safety. I/CAN calls on police and sheriff’s deputies to work with local residents to identify issues that affect neighborhood safety such as robberies and drugs in our neighborhoods and schools as well as addressing racial profiling.

Public Education. I/CAN will work with our national, state and local representatives in support of:
*State support of 60% of the cost of public education
*After school and summer recreation programs as an anti-juvenile-delinquency strategy
*Cost free breakfast and lunch for all economically disadvantaged public-school children
*Raising teachers’ salaries
*Restructuring standardized tests to be evaluative instead of punitive.

The Cost of College Education. I/CAN supports:
*Increased state and federal grants for college
*Tuition free community college
*Forgiveness of student debt
*Support for Project QUEST: long term job training for living wage jobs in the San Antonio economy.

Healthcare. I/CAN calls on the state legislature and the governor:
*To expand Medicaid and simplify the application process for Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicaid for children and increase the reapplication process to a minimum of 12 months.

Gentrification and Affordable Housing. I/CAN will work with state and local elected officials to:
*To increase the homestead exemption from $25,000 to $100,000, so those who want to stay in their neighborhoods can do so in the face of increasing valuations.
*To increase emergency financial assistance, and help with small repairs
*To provide for transparency in real estate transactions so that all property owners pay their fair share of taxes to support our cities, counties, schools and hospitals.
*To initiate action to increase truly Affordable housing, including rent controls and expanded programs for affordable and quality housing.

Criminal Justice Reform. I/CAN supports the elimination of the “check the box” requirement for job applications.

Agenda de Acción: Organización Red Interreligiosa de Acción Comunitaria (I/CAN)
Inmigración: (1) reforma del sistema de inmigración para que los 11 millones personas sin documentos puedan alcanzar su residencia y ciudadanía en los EEUU (2) Una Ley que de ciudadanía inmediata para los jóvenes de DACA (3) un proceso humano y justo para los que huyen de la violencia y buscan refugio y asilo en EEUU (3) Una Legislación estatal para que la gente sin documentos pueda solicitar y obtener una licencia de manejo en Texas.
Verificación integral de antecedentes no penales para todos los que compran armas de fuego. I/CAN trabajará con nuestros congresistas para que aprueban esta legislación en el congreso.

Infraestructura. I/CAN trabajará con los representantes de las ciudades y el condado para mejorar la infraestructura de nuestras vecindarios y la seguridad de los residentes por medio de: (1) La reparación de banquetas y acondicionamiento las mismas para que cumplan con la Ley Federal de Discapacidad vigente (2) Mejoramiento de Alumbrado Público en calles para mejorar la visibilidad y seguridad en los vecindarios (3) Topes de velocidad para prevenir automóviles a exceso de velocidad (4) Control de animales sueltos en las calles, que pueden ser especialmente peligrosos para niños y los ancianos.

Seguridad de Vecindades. I/CAN trabajará con la policía y los alguaciles para que se reúnan con los residentes de la comunidad e identifiquen de manera conjunta riesgos de seguridad en el vecindario tales como robos y venta de dr**as en calles y escuelas.

Educación pública. I/CAN trabajará con nuestros representantes federales, estatales y locales para (1) que el estado de Texas provea, como mínimo, el 60% del costo de la educación pública (2) que se establezcan programas de esparcimiento y enriquecimiento cultural después de las horas de la escuela y durante del verano, como estrategia para evitar la delincuencia juvenil (3) Desayuno y comida gratis para todos los estudiantes de familias de bajos recursos (4) aumento de salario para maestros en las escuelas públicas a un nivel profesional (4) Reestructuración del Sistema de Exámenes Estandarizados Estatales para que sean evaluaciones del sistema de educación y no un castigo para los alumnos.

Costo de la Educación Universitaria. I/CAN trabajará para (1) Aumentar las becas universitarias estatales y federales (2) Eliminar el costo de inscripción a los colegios comunitarios (3) Eliminar y saldar las deudas de los estudiantes por educación universitaria. (4) Apoyo para el Proyecto QUEST en San Antonio que provee entrenamiento para cubrir trabajos que pagan sueldos para un mejor nivel de vida.

Seguro de Salud. I/CAN trabajará con los representantes estatales y el gobernador para extender el programa Medicaid en Texas y el aumento del periodo de reinscripción a 12 meses mínimo.

Gentrificación (Elitización Residencial) y Vivienda Accesible. I/CAN trabajará con oficiales locales y estatales para (1) aumentar la exención de impuestos para casa-habitación de $25,000 a $100,000 para los residentes que prefieren continuar viviendo en vecindarios que enfrentan altos incrementos en los avalúos de las propiedades (2) Aumentar la asistencia en emergencias económicas, y el apoyo para reparaciones de casas (3) Asegurar la transparencias de todas transacciones de compre-venta de bienes raíces para que los dueños de dichas propiedades paguen los impuestos justos y necesarios para sostener nuestra infraestructura local así como las escuelas y hospitales.

Reforma del Sistema de Justicia. I/CAN apoya la eliminación del requisito, para las personas que han estado en prisión, de informarlo cuando solicitan empleo.

11/20/2019